The Voice Recap: Stealing Home

I could kick off this recap of The Voice‘s final set of Knockout Rounds complaining about Carson Daly’s “coming up on…” teases — and how they snuff out suspense like a fire hose pointed at a toddler’s birthday candles. But no — this time around I’m gonna focus on the positives:

* We were treated to four or five performances during the two-hour telecast that were promising enough to signal a potential Season 5 champ.

* While at least one terrific prospect walked the guillotine, the two remaining Steals were used in ways that did not leave me blind with rage.

* And nobody got the dreaded montage treatment (aka The Voice equivalent of dropping a rock in a contestant’s trick-or-treat sack)!

Anyhow…enough kudos for Mark Burnett & Co. — lest they get swelled heads! Let me jump to a ranking of each of tonight’s Knockouts from least- to most-promising winner. (Bear in mind I’ll be back overnight to update this post with more detailed reviews of each performance):

And with that, let me turn things over to you. What did you think of tonight’s Knockout Rounds? Did you disagree with any of the coaches’ decisions on Knockout wins or Steals? Sound off in the comments!